The victory pulled LSU (15-3, 3-1 in Southeastern Conference) into a first place tie in the SEC West Division standings with Mississippi State (13-6, 3-1).

Mitchell had 24 points, 16 in the first half, and Thornton hit for 31 as LSU won its third consecutive game. Thornton scored 17 points in a 3:39 span in the second half to help LSU pull away. He buried four consecutive 3-pointers and capped his run with a steal and a finger roll layup.

LSU leads, 78-51 (3:11, 2H)
Tasmin Mitchell and Marcus Thonrton checked out of the game for good with 5:10 left after scoring 24 and 31 points respectively. They got a huge ovation from the crowd.

LSU up 63, 42 (11:51, 2H)
The beat goes on. Bo Spencer fired up a long 3-pointer and it went down for a 21-point lead. LSU is eight for 13 from 3-point range. Marcus Thornton has 28 points on 10 of 16 shooting. Garrett Temple is having another quietly efficient game with six points, six rebounds and five assists. Chris Johnson has only two points but 11 rebounds. A victory will put LSU in a tie for first in the SEC West with Mississippi State.

Thornton going nuts, LSU leads 60-42 (13:17, 2H)
LSU's Marcus Thornton is on fire. He has 17 points this half and buried four consecutive 3s as LSU has surged out to a 60-42 lead. All of Thornton's points came in a four minute span as he turned on the big PMAC crowd. He capped it with a steal and a finger roll layup.

LSU expands lead, 49-36 (16:06, 2H)
Mississippi State got LSU's l;ead down to three at 38-35, but the Tigers went on an 11-point spree. Chris Johnson got a tip in for his first points and eighth rebound and Marcus thorton buried a 3-pointer coming off a screen along with three free throws. Garrett Temple partially blocked a shot which fueled a fast break where Bo Spencer pulled up and hit a 3-pointer to give the Tigers their biggest lead and force a Mississipi State timeout.

LSU leads Mississippi State at halftime, 36-30
With 2:47 left in the half, LSU had its largest lead, 34-21, but the Bulldogs rallied with a 9-2 finish. LSU Coach Trent Johnson was trying to get referee Toney Greene's attention as the players walked off, no doubt to inquire about some non-calls on the LSU offensive end. There was some contact a couple of times on missed LSU shots, and then Marcus Thornton was whistled for a foul near midcourt with 8.8 seconds. Barry Stewart made both free throws.

Tasmin Mitchell has 16 points for LSU and Marcus Thornton 10. The rest of LSU's team has 10 points. Varnado leads State with 10 and Ravern Johnson has eight.

LSU leads Mississippi State, 29-21 (3:57, 1H)
The Bulldogs went inside twice down the floor and both times big man Jarvis Varnado hit baskets. Ravern Johnson, who seems to have no limit to his range, buried a long 3. But LSU counterpunched. Tasmin Mitchell scoredhis 14th point and Marcus Thornton pulled down a rebound and scored the putback.

LSU widens lead, 25-14
State's shot selection is poor and LSU is cutting them up with passes and drives to the basket. Bo Spencer just buried a long 3-pointer to cap a 9-0 LSU run.

The ball seems to be bouncing LSU's way, too. The Tigers missed two shots under the basket and then State fumbled the rebound out of bounds.

Marcus Thornton is warming up. He scored on a fastbreak layup after a feed from Terry Martin and then hit a driving one-hander from the right baseline. LSU is getting quite a boost from a vocal student section.

LSU leads, 14-11
LSU had led by as many as eight points, but State bounced back with five consecutive points. A 3-pointer by Ravern Johnson and Phil Turner went right up the lane for a dunk.

Tasmin Mitchell has 10 points already on four of six shooting. Marcus Thornton is having trouble finding his shot. LSU has hit one of its last five shots.

LSU leads early, 10-4 (15:54, 1H)
LSU has started out well on both ends of the court. Mississippi State is two for seven from the field and the Tigersare getting the ball to Tasmin Mitchell successfully. Mitchell has six points on two outside jumpers and a mpair of free throws. TheTigers have hit four of five shots.

State so far as put up some long range bombs but has also fed it inside to Jarvis Varnado, who has all four points and is at the free throw line for two shots.